3.4.3 Bibliographic information

Background

The development of the collection of botanical works in the library
has followed the thematic focus of the Gardens' collections. The
library is now managed as part of the Australian Nature Conservation
Agency library and is available to all sections of Agency and, by
appointment, to other organisations and bona fide members of the
public. In addition to published material such as scientific books
and journals, the library maintains collections of reprints, copies
of botanical articles, and an extensive map collection used for
planning field work and for localising specimens. Because it is a
relatively young library, the representation of historical
literature, most important for taxonomic and nomenclatural studies,
is patchy. A long-term purchasing program aims to fill in some of
the major gaps in the collection. Standard services, such as the
sourcing and purchase of literature, interlibrary loans, on-line
catalogues, and public awareness programs are provided by the
library.

Management prescriptions

Objective

The objective is to maintain a botanical library service relevant to
the general thematic focus of the Gardens.

Implementation

The botanical library will provide timely and reliable library
services to facilitate the study of Australian plants. The
acquisitions program will conform with the thematic focus of the
Gardens. Purchases will include technical and popular botanical
books, monographs and journals. Sets of working and reference maps
will be maintained, as will historical field books and other material
of a historical nature. As a long-term project, the acquisitions
program will endeavour to fill historical gaps in the collection.